Collectors and the curious have been awaiting this auction for awhile. Warren Spahn, who spent 21 years in the major leagues, was apparently quite a pack rat. Now, much of what the late Hall of Famer hung onto has been consigned to the All-Star FanFest Auction, with preliminary bidding already underway.
Spahn’s son Greg, who lives in Oklahoma, has decided the time was right to spread it around.
“He saved everything,” Greg Spahn said of his father, the ace of the Boston and Milwaukee Braves who died in 2003. “If he had known during his playing days that old pairs of spikes and sanitary socks were going to be worth something, he’d have saved those, too.”
There are, however, Spahn caps, jerseys and a Hank Aaron All-Star game-used bat from 1961 in addition to his 1957 Cy Young Award.
Final bidding will take place live in New York next month.
The Cy Young Award could fetch six figures. The Warren Spahn Boston Braves jersey could reach $40,000 or more. His 1958 NL Championship and Hall of Fame induction rings will likely soar past $35,000 each.
The Spahn collection is the latest coup for Hunt Auctions, which has sold numerous player estates over the years.
“Frankly, they are estimates,” Hunt told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “We do our best based on market values. And there is some precedent. That’s the fun part of the auction, finding out what items will sell for.”
Spahn is still a legend in Milwaukee and Greg Spahn talked to the paper for this story.
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